Newborns are suffering and dying from drug withdrawal, and Congress and
the White House need to strengthen regulations governing their care and
protection, says a federal commission studying child neglect and abuse.
The Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF)
has released its report after two years of study. It’s clear that
in many areas of the country, infants who are born in drug withdrawal,
and also their drug-using mothers, are not getting the care they require.
As a result, babies are dying and families are suffering. The Commission
was established by law under the new Protect Our Kids Act of 2012, and
was tasked with finding ways to reduce childhood fatalities resulting
from abuse and neglect. During its research, the commission uncovered
evidence of widespread inadequate care for newborns suffering from drug
withdrawal. Newborns exposed to addictive prescription or illicit drugs
consumed by mothers during pregnancy can suffer a wide range of physiologic
and neurobehavioral side effects. After they’re born, they are immersed
in a condition called Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), which essentially
means “this baby is going cold turkey.” NAS is a horribly
uncomfortable experience, and it can be life threatening. Specially trained
neonatal doctors and nurses are required to get newborns through the dangerous
withdrawal period, which can last from days to weeks. The problem, says
the commission, that far too many babies are being born with NAS and not
receiving the care they so urgently need to stay alive. In the CECANF
report, titled
Within Our Reach: A National Strategy to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect
Fatalities, the commission said that as many as eight children die of abuse and neglect
of all kinds every day, and that if nothing is done to change our ways,
1,500 to 3,000 American children will needlessly die this year. As for
the numbers of drug-affected newborns, CECANF was strongly motivated by
a Reuters news service investigation last year which revealed that 130,000
babies have been born addicted to opioids over the past decade, and hundreds
of them have died. A Novus
article
reported on this investigation in February. “A baby is born dependent
on opioids every 19 minutes, but doctors aren’t alerting social
services to thousands of these infants, many of whom come to harm in families
shattered by narcotics,” Reuters said. That report motivated CECANF
to investigate these “deadly failures to protect drug-affected newborns
or help their families,” said CECANF chairman David Sanders. “It
became clear to people why it was important.” Some states are worse
off than others. And as we
reported
a year ago, the CDC says the rate of opioid-addicted newborns in Florida
exceeds US levels, while only 10 percent of mothers get the treatment
they need. CECANF recommends that the federal Children’s Bureau
should report directly to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
It also urges Congress to hold hearings, and to increase funding for family
services – some commissioners pressing for $1 billion in new funding.
“We can't sit here and think we're going to make a difference
and put zero dollars toward it," said Theresa Covington, a presidential
appointee and director of the National Center for the Review and Prevention
of Child Deaths. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell told
a House committee a few days before the release of the CECANF report that
the agency is “improving oversight and investigating some states”
in response to the Reuters investigative articles. Also, a U.S. Senate
committee approved legislation expanding safety plans for drug-affected
newborns. Here at Novus, we don’t provide detox services for expectant
mothers – that’s strictly a problem for specialized hospital
care. Our focus is on helping people get clear of drugs and get their
lives back. If you or someone you care for needs help with substance abuse
or dependence, please don’t hesitate – call us right away.
We’re always here to help.

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